Electoral reforms become law without president’s assent

President Dr Arif Alvi on Sunday returned without his approval a bill that sought to reverse the changes made in the election laws by the previous PTI regime on the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and i-voting for overseas Pakistanis, terming the proposed legislation as “regressive”.

In a statement issued by the President's Secretariat, Alvi noted that he had been pursuing the issues of EVMs and voting for overseas Pakistanis with all governments, in parliament and with the Supreme Court for over a decade.

He added that even though the bill could become an act of parliament, he would not sign it, though with a “heavy heart”, for the sake of future generations and the country. “I want to write down my arguments and ideas for future generations,” he said while expressing his disapproval.

Alvi also termed the proposed legislation as “regressive”, saying that technology, especially EVMs, when used effectively, had solutions to many of the problems that arose in traditional methods.

“It can reduce ambiguity, discord, and [rigging] allegations in the controversial and challenging election process,” argued Alvi.

Last month, the National Assembly and Senate had passed the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Bill 2021 And Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2022 on back-to back days.

On June 4, President Alvi had returned the bills aimed at limiting the powers of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and electoral changes made by the previous PTI government to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for “reconsideration”.

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The government then convened a joint sitting of the two houses on June 9 to consider the bills, which were approved the same day.

After bills are passed by the joint sitting, they are presented to the president again for his assent. If the president does not give his nod to them within 10 days, the approval is deemed to have been given.

However, President Alvi returned the bill unsigned. An official at the presidency confirmed that if the president did not give his assent to the bill sent again by parliament, it would automatically became the law on the 10th day of its passage from parliament — which is June 19 as the bill was passed on June 9 in a joint sitting.

In presidential statement, Alvi was of the view that the measures – allowing expatriates to vote – would facilitate the participation of Pakistanis abroad in the electoral process, creating an atmosphere of political trust and reducing the process of division.

According to the president, reforms through unilateral measures were not possible as he deplored the lack of effort towards building consensus in parliament by policymakers. Alvi said that new technologies including the EVMs would have to “inevitably be adopted”.

The statement quoted the president as saying that he wanted Pakistan to "leapfrog into the world of tomorrow", and not just solve problems through the lens and experiences of yesterday but through newer and better scientific approaches that were available.

“He [president] does understand that this cannot happen without confidence-building measures across the aisles, and broad stakeholder involvement. Why was this not done and why the obvious was not visible to the opinion and decision-makers will remain an enigma to him," the statement read.

The president further observed that the present and future governments and parliaments would be facing two choices: "whether to allow the past to drag Pakistan down or allow the lessons from the past and technologies of today to boost us into the bright progressive and dynamic future of Pakistan that has been our dream."

"Many such decisions will continue to challenge us, and history shows that those who make the right decisions 'rise', and those who don't, squander opportunities that obstruct their path to glory," the statement quoted Dr Alvi as saying.

He also referred to Article 75 (2) of the Constitution of Pakistan which states: “When the President has returned a Bill to the Majlis-e Shoora (Parliament), it shall be reconsidered by the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) in joint sitting and, if it is again passed, with or without amendment, by the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), by the votes of the majority of the members of both Houses present and voting, it shall be deemed for the purposes of the Constitution to have been passed by both Houses and shall be presented to the President, and the President shall give his assent within ten days, failing which such assent shall be deemed to have been given.”

Under the amendment to Section 94 of the Election Act of 2017, the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2022 aims to conduct pilot projects for voting by overseas Pakistanis in the by-elections to ascertain their technical efficacy, secrecy, security and financial feasibility before using i-voting and EVMs in the next general elections.

Under the amendment to Section 103 of the Election Act, the ECP may conduct pilot projects to utilise EVMs and the biometric verification system in local by-elections.

The NA had passed the bills, suggesting that overseas Pakistanis could only vote physically rather than electronically, and EVMs would not be used in the next general elections.